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The funding method to demolish the Lake Street School took center stage during a brief special Board of Selectmen meeting on June 18.
The discussion was a follow-up from the prior week’s session when Town Manager Jeff Bridges pitched the idea of freeing $700,000 in ARPA funds tied to that project to pay for previously approved capital items totaling $699,803 instead.
Then, at the November Town Meeting, the free cash capital money would be shifted to help pay for the clearing of the school, which closed in 2016 and remains in disrepair.
Bridges acknowledged receipt of a $500,000 cleanup grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the Lake Street School Project. With it comes timing issues and “a lot of steps to it to meet requirements,” Bridges said on June 10.
In addition, the $700,000 in ARPA funds must be under contract by the end of the fiscal year, prompting this shifting of payment sources.
Bridges described the 20-plus acre Lake Street School as a “unicorn site,” adding, “It’s in the heart of the community, has water and sewer, you could include a (cell) tower or whatever the town wants to use it for.”
Selectman Ralph Hicks spoke about the “deplorable” conditions at the former school, which has broken windows, was not sealed properly, got compromised by water and has “pitch black walls,” from mold.
Speaking about a possible tower there, Hicks said cell phone service went “down the drain,” since the Congregational Church fire. “We have not had the quality of service we had when the tower was sitting up in the beautiful steeple.”
He said the church community must decide what to do with that property quickly, even though it might be difficult for them.
“We need a functional tower that is tall enough and in the right position to give the townspeople what they are paying for,” he said.
Whether the tower eventually gets located at the Lake Street School property or not, Bridges said the building has to be demolished, the site cleared and the town must come up with a re-use plan as one requirement of federal funding.
Previously, there was talk of using the Lake Street School site for affordable/senior housing or open space.
The town manager said on a positive note, Spencer has a good hazardous material survey and a sample template Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP). The QEP is the person who will oversee the “full and final” demolition.
The Lake Street School was first constructed in 1956 and got an addition in 1977 that included 11 more classrooms, an area in the kitchen, and an enlarged cafeteria and gym multipurpose room.
Originally built as a middle school, the building was used as an elementary school until it was abandoned in 2015.
A hazardous material survey in the summer of 2023 identified asbestos, lead, and mercury issues as well as PCBs in lights and fixtures.
Bids for the project last year came in exceeding $1 million plus $46,000 for services to monitor the work.
The town sought the EPA grant to help pay for remediation of the site, facilitate the demolition of the remaining structure, and provide for the property’s reuse. As a result of the June 18 selectmen’s vote, the remaining $700,000 to fund the project would come from free cash being transferred for that purpose at the fall Town Meeting.
